Summary
Overview
Work History
Education
Skills
Timeline
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Safann Mac Carthy

Safann Mac Carthy

Dublin

Summary

With over 25 years experience in the global marketing and strategic growth arena, I have been fortunate to work with market leaders and household names in several industries and international locations. While a passion for creativity and innovation have helped me drive growth and surpass targets, data is at the heart of every decision made. Working on the ground across EMEA and Central America ingrained the importance of the ability to translate a global marketing plan and message for local markets. I have developed skills in all areas of marketing - ATL, BTL, B2B and B2C. Additionally I have experience in UX and product development, while managing budgets ranging from €5K to €18M and delivering revenue in excess of €30M.

Overview

26
26
years of professional experience

Work History

Head of SMB Marketing, EMEA

TikTok
Dublin
01.2022 - 03.2024
  • As TikTok EMEA SMB marketing lead, I aimed to answer the question of "Why" and "How" for all small to medium businesses across the region when considering the relatively new "TikTok for Business" as an advertising platform.
  • I had core responsibility for building systems and tools that allowed SMBs to become experts on the platform, in turn becoming the growth engine for the company in 32 active markets, through 19 languages.
  • Managing a team of 30, with 4 direct reports and a budget of $18M I built a team that encompassed multiple levels of industry experience to ensure a continuous learning environment. I also ensured that the team reflected the diverse region, bringing local voices from 14 key markets together.
  • I worked with strategy and insight teams to build market prioritsation schedules allowing key markets to benefit from enhanced product and program development. This work also included end to end reporting, intent and attribution modelling which drove campaign optimisation as well as resource and budget allocation.
  • I ensured sales and marketing worked together in "lock-step" across every customer journey, creating a cohesive message, leading to customer confidence and an enhanced experience.
  • Given the diversity of the region we needed to adapt global themes for local stages, bringing to life customer education and opportunities in both virtual and real-life experiences. This work also shaped collaboration with the product teams.
  • Key projects included - new market launches, education and UX programs, customer testimonial hubs, roadshows, economic impact reports, demand generation, sales enablement material, seasonal feature programs, performance reporting, lifecycle development and revenue growth.

Marketing Strategy Consultant

INTONATE
Dublin
08.2019 - 12.2022
  • My goal for Intonate, was to bring the value of director level experience to start-ups and scaling SMEs on a project or consultancy basis
  • I focused on creating practical marketing, operations and product strategies that not only act as a shield to distractions, but provide a clear path to growth, ensuring commercial targets are achieved
  • Intonate also provided brand identity and market positioning services to those at the start of their journey, as well as investment pitch support
  • For those further along, a focus was placed on growth strategies and action plans, sales operations and communication for both B2B and B2C, online and offline
  • Through Intonate, I also provided training and advice for various business groups brought together by ISME, Enterprise Ireland, DublinBIC and Pulsar Venture Capital.

Marketing Director

Saongroup
Dublin
07.2012 - 08.2019
  • Saongroup, (part of the StepStone global network of eRecruitment websites) spanning 21 countries, hosting 16M subscribers and 50M monthly visits) operates across Europe, Central America and Africa
  • It also develops employer brand and SaaS applicant management products for the B2B side of the market
  • Best known in the Irish market as IrishJobs.ie and Jobs.ie
  • As Marketing Director I had three core streams of responsibility - Brand, Sales Enablement and Product
  • Key achievements include;
  • 1 - Scoring number 1 for spontaneous B2C brand awareness in Ireland, N.Ireland, South Africa and El Salvador with a registered database of over 8M jobseekers
  • 2 - Scaling the Saongroup brand website audience by an average of 15% YoY to 19M visits per month in 2019, with an Irish social media following of over 150K through a combination of strong SEO, an affinity partner network and a paid advertising strategy
  • 3 - Supporting the rapid scaling of sales teams (+250) with the introduction of a demand generation, account based marketing and e-commerce strategy, targeting all customer groups from SME to Enterprise, delivering +20% YoY revenue growth (+€50M)
  • I was Business Product Owner, sitting on the Product Development Board as the conduit between Commercial and IT
  • I carried out user research (quantitative and qualitative) and competitive analysis for both B2B and B2C markets
  • I combined market insights and managed cross-functional international IT development teams to design and build a product strategy and roadmap
  • I influenced pricing strategies and budget allocation
  • I developed and rolled-out go-to-market campaigns for new products - Company Reviews, TalentBank, mobile apps and back-office systems with high engagement and adoption rates to enhance user engagement
  • I led the automation of user lifecycle communications (B2B and B2C) to allow for the easy scaling of subscriber interaction
  • User training programs, product performance reviews and optimisation schedules for future iterations also fell into my remit
  • I was designated interim Managing Director with P&L responsibility, during a management transition for the UK Business, MyJobGroup.co.uk
  • I led the restructure of the business and managed all change processes with internal stakeholders
  • I reported directly to the Regional CEO, developing and delivering the integrated communications and brand strategy, and reporting of key metrics at board level
  • I recruited and led a team of five direct reports & remotely managed dotted line reports based in several international locations.

Operations Manager

AHA, GHOHA HILLS
Chobe
04.2012 - 07.2012
  • I was accountable for marketing, operations, procurement, logistics, recruitment and safari experiences.

SME Segment Manager

VODAFONE
Dublin
07.2010 - 03.2012
  • This contract role allowed me to work on the delivery of the SME Segment revenue targets through all channels, including setting volume targets for acquisition and customer retention activities.
  • The position also championed customer-centric thinking, including insight development, marketing strategy definition and proposition planning.

Trade Planning Director

Sultan Center
Kuwait City
07.2010 - 03.2011
  • The Sultan Center is one of the Middle East’s largest retailers, with food and non-food stores located across Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Bahrain and Jordan.
  • As part of the international team tasked with rolling out industry best practice, I developed a three-year trade and marketing communications strategy for the retail chain.
  • This included a 12-month rolling plan, regional marketing campaigns - ATL (digital, TV, radio, press) & BTL (PR, in-store) and the set up of a promotions and marketing team, designed to maximise seasonal events, brand leader events and in-store promotions, while safeguarding margin performance.
  • Finally, I established cross-functional teams to further develop sales and volume forecasting models, ensuring revenue targets were met.

Base and Expedition Manager / Guide

GVI / Makalali Private Game Reserve
Hoedspruit
01.2009 - 05.2010

Marketing and Brand Manager

BWG - SPAR
Dunboyne
06.2005 - 03.2006
  • Reporting to the Marketing & Communications Director, I was responsible for the development of three-year strategy for the SPAR brand in Ireland
  • This included the development of national marketing campaigns suitable for use on a regional basis, which supported in-store activation, new store openings, charity fundraising, franchisee communication programmes, conventions and regional roadshows
  • I developed national and international sports and lifestyle sponsorship, carried out market research and launched several in-house brands
  • Having full responsibility for a budget of over €7m and a team of five, I also recruited and managed external creative agencies.

Commerical Marketing Manager

TESCO
Dublin
06.1998 - 05.2005
  • Reporting to the Category Director for Food and Impulse, I was responsible for the development and implementation of marketing plans in collaboration with commercial and operations teams
  • This involved category performance analysis, range reviews and trade planning
  • I handled new product launches for both supplier and Tesco brands, and led seasonal and product range events, customer competitions, management incentive programmes, regional presentations, internal briefings and roadshow exhibitions
  • I established and managed cross-functional teams, with members ranging from board directors to department managers
  • My remit encompassed new product development & range integration along with store merchandising layouts based on customer profiles, available space, sales, logistics, market trends.

European Marketing Manager

ALLTECH
Dublin
06.2001 - 05.2005
  • Reporting to the Marketing Director, I had full responsibility for the development of the European marketing strategy and budget
  • At the core of this was the translation of global product strategies for regional European markets, including new product launches and customer research
  • I remotely managed the European Marketing Department (30+ employees), and worked on the ground in several countries to develop customer relations.

Account Manager

PurplePatch / Young Advertising
Dublin
06.1998 - 06.2001

Education

Professional Development LTD
01-2013

University of Ulster
01-1998

Marketing Institute of Ireland
01-1995

Skills

  • GLOBAL EXPERIENCE
  • PRODUCT, MARKETING & GROWTH STRATEGY
  • BUDGET MANAGEMENT
  • INSIGHT AND ANALYTICS
  • CREATIVE PROBLEM SOLVING
  • PEOPLE DEVELOPER
  • COLLABORATIVE TEAM LEADER
  • MARKET PRIORITSATION & STRATEGY
  • LIFE-CYCLE COMMUNICATIONS
  • SEA INSIGHTS & REPORTING
  • SEO
  • SOCIAL MEDIA
  • ADVERTISING AND MEDIA - TV, RADIO, VOD, OOH
  • CONTENT STRATEGY & CREATION
  • PR
  • EVENT PLANNING AND EXECUTION
  • 3RD PARTY AGENCY MANAGEMENT
  • LEAD GENERATION - MQL, SQL, SAL
  • COMMUNICATIONS
  • BRAND MANAGEMENT
  • DIGITAL MARKETING
  • SPONSORSHIP
  • BRAND AWARENESS
  • OPERATIONS
  • PROJECT MANAGEMENT
  • MARKET RESEARCH
  • CRM
  • SALES ENABLEMENT
  • EMPLOYER BRAND
  • EVENT MANAGEMENT, IRL AND VIRTUAL
  • PRODUCT MARKETING
  • NATIVE APP MANAGEMENT

Timeline

Head of SMB Marketing, EMEA

TikTok
01.2022 - 03.2024

Marketing Strategy Consultant

INTONATE
08.2019 - 12.2022

Marketing Director

Saongroup
07.2012 - 08.2019

Operations Manager

AHA, GHOHA HILLS
04.2012 - 07.2012

Trade Planning Director

Sultan Center
07.2010 - 03.2011

SME Segment Manager

VODAFONE
07.2010 - 03.2012

Base and Expedition Manager / Guide

GVI / Makalali Private Game Reserve
01.2009 - 05.2010

Marketing and Brand Manager

BWG - SPAR
06.2005 - 03.2006

European Marketing Manager

ALLTECH
06.2001 - 05.2005

Commerical Marketing Manager

TESCO
06.1998 - 05.2005

Account Manager

PurplePatch / Young Advertising
06.1998 - 06.2001

Professional Development LTD

University of Ulster

Marketing Institute of Ireland

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Safann Mac Carthy